


Looking for an Adventure

by parttimefemmefatale (writingramblr)



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Doctor Who AU, F/M, Human AU, Jack is not who you think he is, from a tumblr prompt, online dating au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-13
Updated: 2014-01-25
Packaged: 2018-01-08 13:28:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 9,461
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1133195
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writingramblr/pseuds/parttimefemmefatale
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>~ Nine and Rose have had no luck finding their match so through the advice of a few of their friends they try online dating. After a few unpleasant experiences for the both of them, they end up stumbling across each other’s posted personal ad and get to chatting. Eventually they realize that they’re perfect for each other and set up a date for chips.~</p><p>from this tumblr post:<br/>http://doortotomorrow.tumblr.com/post/45842331602/</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I made a couple small changes, mostly the fact they're on a site like match.com or something, and not just on an anonymous chat thing. It's better if you just read it hah.  
> Also, Jack is Rose's cat, it just felt fitting. I think if i had tried to bring him into the story he might have interfered with Nine and Rose's potential future. He's too handsome for his own good.  
> Keep an eye out for plenty of Who references!  
> I also did the old split POV thing, it's in 3rd person, but we go back and forth between Rose and John/Nine.

Rose Tyler was not the most patient girl in the world. In fact, she’d been born nearly two days early, as her mother Jackie liked to tell it, “She’d just gotten so tired of the same boring womb; she wanted to see the world!”

Unfortunately, out in the big wide world, it was much more difficult to actually _see_ it.

Travelling was no longer for anyone. Now it required money, and depending on how far you wanted to go, lots of it.

So Rose settled down in a small flat in London, only a few minutes from where her mother lived, to her greatest annoyance, and took a job in a department store.

Not the most exciting of day jobs, but it paid the bills.

***

The day her life changed for the better, was nothing special. It started like any other, a phone call in the morning from her mother.

“Yes mum, I’ll be there on Sunday for dinner, don’t worry.”

Rose always made it to the family dinner, no matter what, for she knew if she missed one, her mother would think the worst. Kidnapped, murdered, or locked in at work.

She fumbled with her toast as she held the phone between her cheek and shoulder, and winced in pain as her fingers accidentally touched the heating element.

“I hope Mickey can make it. Oh darling, what’s wrong?”

Rose bit back a swear, and rolled her eyes, her mother had been trying to set her up with her best friend Mickey for ages, inviting him to ‘family’ occasions, telling him when she’d be off for the holidays, and if she somehow managed to spend a day off somewhere nice, like at the London Eye, (she’d gone once!), her mother told Mickey he needed to keep her company.

Sometimes she liked being alone. Liked the time with her thoughts. Other times, not so much.

When she’d come home to an empty flat, except for her small calico cat whom she’d fondly named ‘Captain Jack,’ she found she was beginning to dislike the quiet.

“Nothing Mum. Just burnt my hand on my toast is all.”

“Oh sweetie, I’m so sorry. I’m keeping you from eating. Call me once you get off, I’ll tell you what you should bring Sunday!”

Rose rolled her eyes again,

“We having a pot luck are we now?”

Jackie laughed,

“Yes dear. I’ve invited a few more people than Mickey, to tell you the truth, and I thought it might help if everyone brought a little something.”

“You know I’m a dreadful cook. I can hardly make toast without killing myself.”

Rose was exaggerating, but it worked.

“Of course dear. You don’t worry about it. I’ll have Mickey bring dessert. Have a good day now!”

The line clicked, and Rose dropped the phone in relief. Back to the silence. The never ending silence, punctuated only by a stray meow from Jack.

“Oh dear, I forgot to get your water. Just a minute captain, let me fix my brain.”

Rose tapped her forehead, her eyes on Jack, and he simply stared fixedly at his water dish, and her hand dropped.

“You’re no fun you are.”

***

John Smith wasn’t your average Mechanic. He preferred to think of himself as a Doctor. Of course, there wasn’t actually a name that got more exciting the ‘mechanic,’ for someone who tinkered and fixed up automobiles.

He was determined to find a method of travel that didn’t involve so much waste and that wasn’t nearly as expensive.

But for now, working in his little auto repair shop paid his bills. It didn’t keep him from drawing and doodling in his free time. He had an entire journal filled with ‘Impossible things.’

Things he knew someday, if he had the chance, he would turn into a reality, more than just scribbles on a page.

A lined page for that matter. He really needed to get some professional blue-print style paper for drawing on.

If only.

When John closed up his shop for the evening, it was a bone chilling Friday night, and though many Londoners liked to claim they could predict the weather, he _knew_ he could smell snow coming. Even if it wasn’t to start until late that night, or early the next morning, it was on its way.

He smiled broadly, and pulled his jacket closer, striding away from the locked blue doors of his shop. He could also smell chips in the air, and boy, was he hungry.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to be trying to update this leading up to a special Valentines day drabble, so it will be updated a bit slower than my other stories

After Rose managed to trudge through another family dinner, awkwardly avoiding the way her mother kept looking between her and Mickey, egging them on to flirt, she felt that she deserved a medal.

The only useful thing she and Mickey had chatted about, was a helpful travel site he’d found. Rose wasn’t much for surfing the web, but if it meant finding an affordable trip to Barcelona, or Paris, she was all in.

Her mother had cleverly (in her mind) placed Mickey right beside Rose, so in theory she had had to converse with him, lest she appear rude. It wasn’t that she didn’t like Mickey, she just didn’t want to date him. He felt pretty much the same, and had told her multiple times, always apologizing for Jackie’s meddling, but Rose knew it was beyond pointless. Until they each brought a significant other to a family dinner, Jackie would never get the message.

Rose returned home, and cleaned up, fed Jack, before dropping down in front of her computer. It was an older model, but still did what it needed to. Mickey had come over and helped install some sort of new processor, so it actually worked a lot better than the average person would expect.

 

“Bigger on the inside.” He’d joked.

It was true. With a simple box, you could go anywhere, see anything, and read about it all without leaving the comfort of your home.

Except Rose _wanted_ to leave home.

 

A week of long shifts and even longer hours, and she found herself visiting the travel site again. It had been much too long since she’d had a free moment to even day dream about her ideal trip, and it felt like she had the weight of the world on her shoulders until she sat down at her desk.

She sighed deeply, and clicked to log on, and checked her email. Sure enough, there it was. The link for the travel site Mickey had mentioned.

She clicked it, and spent the next few hours browsing places, hotels, flight times and places of interest at her desired destination.

She looked over at the clock, and the curled up form of sleeping Jack on her bed, and realized just how much time she’d spent online.

“Oops.”

Nearly three hours had passed since she had sat down, and no wonder her bum was feeling slightly numb. She’d barely moved in all that time.

She blinked, and then yawned widely. Perhaps Jack had the right idea. It was long past a decent bed time.

She logged off the computer, and padded over to her bed, collapsing on top of the sheets, only pausing long enough to tug a blanket over herself, before she turned over and fell asleep.

***

Rose awoke in the morning with a smile on her face. She’d had the most wonderful dream. A man had appeared out of nowhere, run up to her at work, and asked her if she’d like to see the universe, she’d answered “Yes” about as fast as her dream self could, and the man had taken her hand, and whisked her away In his magic blue box, that could fly, and somehow travel in space and time.

They’d arrived first in Barcelona, but when she’d asked about its strange appearance, curtsey of her dreaming brain, he’d said it was the planet, not the country. She’d frowned at him, but before she could speak, they’d been somewhere else, where the grass smelled of apples, and there were towering sky scrapers, and a hospital, run by cats. She’d thought of Jack, and how he would have enjoyed that, and woke up with a smile.

She could feel Jack purring at her side, and nudging her hand, which rested on top of the sheets, along with the rest of her. She’d been a wild sleeper, and thrown off the blanket in the night. She sat up slowly, and shivered. It was so bright outside, and when she stepped closer to the window, she was astonished to see a light coating of snow on the ground. It was still falling gently, and she moved to pick up Jack, holding him close as she whispered to him about her dream.

He might have been listening, or maybe not, either way, she was glad she at least had him.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> finally...plot progress....ahhhh,  
> and surprise cameo!

John stared at his computer screen, checking and double checking his monthly figures. Somehow he seemed to be off by about a hundred dollars. In the wrong direction.

He normally wouldn’t complain about extra money, and who would? But this meant he’d overcharged for something, and his customer hadn’t noticed.

He didn’t want something like that to come back and bite him.

He lifted his finger to carefully find the number and name, and wrote it down.

His hands shook slightly before dialing the phone, but he knew he was doing the right thing.

“Hello?”

“Hello miss Noble, this is the Doctor, er John. I was calling about your last oil change.”

“Yes what about it?”

She sounded impatient, and John could only hope she wouldn’t yell at him.

***

Rose brewed a full pot of tea, and poured a mug to take back to her room, so she could resume browsing the travel site.

She’d barely set the cup down, logged on, and clicked back to the site when she shrieked.

Jack jumped about a mile from where he’d been still lounging on her unmade bed, and she clapped a hand over her mouth. Wouldn’t do to have the neighbors think she was being murdered. They might call her mum.

She’d gone to bed in a blissfully happy state of mind, but had accidentally placed an order for a ticket to Barcelona, along with hotel stay and car rental.

Somehow she must have grown so delirious from sleep, she’d clicked one too many things.

Luckily, or unluckily, the date of the ticket was marked for nearly a month in advance, and it had been reasonably cheaper than if she’d clicked to travel tomorrow.

She still couldn’t begin to afford that kind of trip. She went into full on panic mode, and grabbed the phone to start dialing anyone who could stop the charge and cancel the ticket.

***

John hung up the phone, slightly relieved, and rather exhausted from that one conversation.

Miss Noble hadn’t been exactly thrilled to find out about the accidental charge, but her grandfather had stolen the phone away from her to assure him it was no big deal. John in turn promised to provide a full refund, but Mister Noble told him to merely put the money towards their next visit. John was just glad to hear there would be another visit, much less more business.

He glanced at the clock, nearly time for a bit of lunch, as he’d come straight to work with only a cuppa and banana in his stomach for breakfast.

He walked across the street, to his favorite spot, the Café Gallifrey. The best fish and chips in the universe, or at least London.

He sat in the same corner booth he always did, munching happily on his food, and stopping for the occasional sip of tart, sweet, ice cold lemonade.

But as he watched the bustling café’s occupants, he couldn’t help but notice something. He was the only one dining alone.

Oh sure, there were other people sitting by themselves, but they were mostly chattering on a cellphone to someone, or, sure enough, the next person who walked inside headed their direction. They were never alone for long.

Only John stayed alone.

He couldn’t quite say why this bothered him. It never had until now.

He looked down at his empty basket and tried to remember how it had tasted. But it was too late. He’d already forgotten.

***

Two hours, half a dozen phone calls and a full blown panic attack later, including a frantic call from her mother after glancing at her credit card balance (Why Rose let her continue to keep track of her cards she couldn’t remember) everything had been settled.

Rose sat back in her chair and let out a huge breath.

“That was fun. Let’s never do it again.”

Jack watched her solemnly from his perch atop her computer, and she could have sworn he would have shrugged in reply, but that was probably just her brain trying to convince her it was time for something to be in her besides nervous butterflies.

“More tea would be good. Maybe a biscuit too.”

Rose mumbled aloud to herself, as she walked to her small kitchenette, pouring a now chilled cup of tea, and placing it in the microwave.

Jack had followed her, mewing softly, so she bent down to rub behind his ears, and sighed.

“We’re never going to leave here are we?”

The phone rang, jarring her from her momentary peace, and she hoped to all the heavens and beyond it wasn’t her mother _again,_ but when she said a tiny ‘Hello,’ it was Mickey’s voice she heard.

She nearly fainted with relief.

“Mickey. What’s up?”

“Oh not much, I just wanted to see how you were enjoying your day off.”

“So far, not immensely.”

She summarized her long morning and could almost hear Mickey wince.

“You need to relax a bit. Go out, meet some people.”

Rose laughed, and shook her head, not caring he couldn’t see her,

“As if! I’m rubbish at meeting new people. You of all people know that.”

“That’s true.”

“Oi! You’re gonna get a slap Sunday night.”

Mickey laughed,

“I’m thinking you’ll forget by then.”

“Mark my words then.”

“Listen, if you don’t want to go out, will you at least do me a favor?”

“Sure. What is it?”

“Take a break from your travel plans and go sign up for this site.”

He told her a name, and she scoffed. It was a popular singles site, and she would rather be living with Jackie then join that sort of mad house. She voiced as much, and Mickey was not happy with her.

“Fine Rose. You want to be stubborn, be it. You’ll not win any hearts that way.”

“Except for yours of course.”

Mickey sighed on the other end of the line, and Rose sobered.

“What is it? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing Rose. It’s not wrong. It’s brilliant. I’ve met someone.”

Rose beamed,

“Way to go Micks. Who is she?”

“Her name’s Martha. I know you won’t like it, but I met her on that site. I’m going to bring her to a Sunday dinner sometime. Maybe after Christmas, to give your mum time to think about it. I’m going to tell her about it Sunday. I know it’s probably not the easiest thing, but she’s gonna hear it sooner or later.”

“Oh Mickey, that’s wonderful. I’m really happy for you. I still don’t like the idea of meeting a bunch of strangers though.”

“Now Rose, it’s a London based thing. You won’t be talking to any old pervs over in Scotland. Just old London pervs.”

Rose laughed, muffling the sound with her hand so Mickey wouldn’t be deafened.

“Oh alright. If you say so. I’ll try it. But only for a week! Get that? After that, I’ll just be resigned to stay with my Captain.”

“You know I never liked that cat.”

“I doubt he cares Micks.”

“Sure, sure. Ok well you take care, and don’t stress. I’ll do all the talking on Sunday.”

“I’ll be happy to watch mum beat you up. I might even charge admission.”

“Oi! You wouldn’t.”

“I still think you need a slap. So maybe mum can do it for me.”

“Yeah yeah. Alright be seeing ya Rose.”

“Bye Mickey.”

 

The line clicked dead, and Rose sat back with a huff. She didn’t like the idea of dating, much less online dating.

Oh well, if It had worked for Mickey, it was worth a shot.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's the nine/donna sass off you've all been waiting for!  
> heh sorta.

John was tinkering and working on the Noble car, and trying to ignore the owner’s ongoing chatter. It was becoming rather difficult.

“If you wouldn’t mind, ah-”

“Donna.” The red head was glaring at him, but as he was below the raised hood, he couldn’t actually see her, much less fear her stern expression.

“Yes, Donna. Please, let me focus, I wouldn’t want to accidentally reroute the washer fluid to the gas tank.”

Donna frowned at him,

“Is that even possible from where you are working? I may not know cars, but I know enough.”

John fought back a laugh,

“Anything is possible with this model.”

“Whatever. So is this it? You don’t have a partner or anything? Girlfriend? Wife? Boyfriend?”

John straightened up so fast he hit his head on the raised hood. A challenging feat.

“What?”

Donna shrugged,

“Just asking. Trying to make conversation.”

“You were carrying on quite well without me before. Besides I should tell you, I don’t date clients.”

Donna looked thunderstruck,

“I wasn’t looking for a date sunshine. But now I can see just why you haven’t got any sort of companion. You’re a right—“

She broke off as John raised his eyebrows, and they nearly disappeared into his messy dark grey bangs.

  
“Fixing your car right now. I’d watch what you called me.”

Donna’s eyes narrowed,

“I think you ought to be careful about threats.”

John laughed,

“I know that you’re more bark than bite. Wilf told me.”

Donna huffed in annoyance.

“Yeah I know it. He’s such a meddler. He probably wants us to go out.”

John’s face soured for a moment before he realized Donna had shivered in disgust at nearly the same time.

“Well thanks for that.”

“Yeah sure. The thing is, I’m actually engaged. I haven’t told mum or Wilf yet. I’m sort of worried about what they’ll say.”

John was surprised to see such an abrupt attitude change in Donna. Seeing her talk about this gave her face a sad look, and she almost looked worried.

He wasn’t sure what he could do, but he set down his wrench, and moved towards where she stood, hugging herself.

She glanced at him, before throwing her arms around him.

She just needed a hug.

A real one.

“I think you don’t need to worry about a thing. You’ve got a bloke, he loves you enough to want to spend the rest of his life with you, not an easy feat from what I’ve seen. So tell your folks.”

Donna’s mouth had opened to protest, but snapped shut when she listened to the rest of what he’d said.

He made a lot of sense, her mechanic.

 “Alright. Maybe you’re right. Thanks for listening.”

“You’re welcome. Now, may I finish working in peace? There’s a nice little shop just down the road, all sorts of pretty things that you could look at. I’ll be done in just under half an hour.”

Donna nodded, before smacking his arm.

“That’s for…well whatever. I’ll be back, and she better be perfect.”

“Not to worry. She’s a fine machine, and just needs a bit of tweaking.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> references. references everywhere.  
> even a mention of Clara!  
> heh

Rose tentatively clicked ‘submit’ on her application, a more modern version of a personal ad, and was promptly greeted with a welcome page, and a small list of suggested profiles, or other ads to look at.

The first one had a strange username,”cybrmn0”, but she wasn’t on there to waste time, so she clicked on it, and was met with a picture of a men wearing a tinfoil hat.

Before she could stop herself, she was laughing aloud, and glad that no one could see her.

The user noticed she had viewed his profile, and messaged her.

“ _greetings how are you”_

She refrained from becoming a grammar nazi, and simply replied,

“I’m good thanks.”

_“what brings you to online dating”_

Considering she’d barely just joined, and didn’t even have a picture up yet, she was puzzled at such a blunt question.

“End of the line I guess. How about you?”

_“pics or gtfo”_

Rose frowned in confusion, before translating the brief message. She rolled her eyes, and closed the window. This was not boding well.

The next recommendation was a nice enough looking bloke, except in all of his pictures, he was surrounded by family. He literally didn’t have a picture of just himself. Was he attached at the hip to his mother and sister?

His username was “humannaturef”

She wasn’t sure what to make of that.

She avoided clicking back when she saw he messaged her as well.

“No thank you.”

She found herself muttering aloud to the computer.

 

After an hour or more of browsing, she stumbled upon a promising profile.

Username, “faceofbo.” A strange choice, but what a handsome man! Rose excitedly typed a first message, but then read a bit further on his profile. He was not looking for anything serious, long term, or even monogamous. She prepared to edit her message and poke fun at that, when she noticed the explanation. He felt himself too quick to fall, and was trying to be cautious and only looking for a good time.

She nearly scoffed at the idea of a man being too quick to feel, much less fall in love, but she realized she was being a bit harsh. With a mumbled “Good luck,” she clicked away from his profile.

This was suddenly looking a lot harder than Mickey had made it sound. Not to mention the number of messages she was getting simply because she didn’t have a picture yet. The men made it seem like a personal affront. Heaven forbid she be an interesting unique girl, but she didn’t have a picture, so she could be ugly.

Rose rolled her eyes and logged off, growing annoyed with herself and mankind.

This was a terrible idea.

***

John waved goodbye to Donna Noble, and watched her as she drove off. She’d been unusually eye opening for him. Even after he’d finished up on her car and she’d returned from a fruitful window shopping trip, they’d stood and chatted for ages.

She’d apologized for any rude and assuming thing she’d said, and he’d merely shrugged them off. Truth was, he knew she was right, at least mostly. He needed to do something about his situation. When she casually mentioned she’d met her fiancée on some dating site, that he couldn’t hurt to check out, he’d laughed, and pretended to play along.

That night, when he found himself sitting in front of his bright laptop, the numbers and figures from his business week started to blend together.

Maybe he could use a break.

He looked up the site and tried not to roll his eyes too much at it. They practically wanted him to write his own bloody autobiography. He was just looking for a nice girl to have chips with, who hopefully wouldn’t get bored if he mentioned cars, and might want to get out and see the world someday. Was that too much to ask?

It seemed to be. He filled everything out, added a picture of his shop, free advertising and the chance to avoid showing his daft face, and clicked apply.

He clicked by the welcome screen, muttering,

“Yeah I kind of figured that. Thanks for nothing.”

The list of advised ads to look at all looked rather intimidating. The women all looked beautiful, whether with brown hair or blond, and he knew if he tried to contact them, they’d probably laugh, and ignore him.

There was a girl, with kind eyes and lovely brown hair, but when he clicked to her page, he noticed just how young she looked up close.

If this was the median age of women on this site, he was in big trouble.


	6. Chapter 6

Another week passed for Rose, and she managed to survive the Sunday dinner when Mickey finally brought Martha.

Jackie nearly had a heart attack, or at least pretended to. Rose had to bite her tongue a couple times to keep from speaking up, because she wanted Mickey to be able to fight his own battles.

Eventually they both pulled a smile from Jackie when they finished a sentence, thanking her for inviting them.

Rose watched as her mother gave each of them a hug, and sort of a sad smile. She’d come to terms with it, and even though Mickey might never be her son by blood, she still loved him and wanted the best for him.

Rose meanwhile, could have smacked Mickey anyway. He’d taken the pressure off himself, and now it had doubled on Rose’s shoulders.

When her mother called her early on a Saturday morning, she knew she was in for it. She’d suffered through dozens of useless messages, some of them using language that appalled her, and certainly didn’t motivate her in terms of joining the dating pool.

“All I’m saying is maybe you need to get out there. Do something more exciting. You could move back in with me, go back to school. University is a great place to meet fellas.”

Rose wasn’t so much afraid of school costs as she was the phrase “Live with me,” when uttered by her mother.

“No thanks. I’m doing fine on my own. You know the old saying. I don’t need a man. I’ve got Jack.”

She could hear her mother huff on the other end of the line,

“That old cat isn’t any use. What does he do? Laze about all day.”

Rose giggled,

“Just like a man. Except he’s cheaper and doesn’t talk back if I don’t make dinner.”

“Ugh Rose! That’ s a horrible way to think. If you don’t bring someone to our next Christmas dinner, I don’t know what I’m going to do!”

Rose glanced half heartedly at the calendar, by her mother’s threat, she had about two months to meet the deadline.

“Yeah sure. Whatever you want. Look I gotta go, Jack needs a bath.”

“And see? A man wouldn’t need you to bath him! Have fun sweetie.”

“Thanks.”

Rose sighed heavily and refrained from throwing the phone across the room. Truthfully, Jack was sitting contented in a rare sunbeam that fell across her bed, and she had no intention of forcing him into a large body of water anytime soon.

She clutched her lukewarm cup of tea and decided to log on to her personal ad, check to see what sort of nutters she’d be dealing with today.

***

John was loath to admit it, but he was actually growing more and more depressed everyday on the dating site. He’d gotten only a handful of replies, and the second he mentioned that he was self employed as a mechanic, his conversation partner vanished.

What was so horrible about that? So he wasn’t a prince with an oil farm in his backyard. But was that what women were looking for?

He hit refresh on the page and his eyes were drawn to a suggested ad, with no picture and the username “BadWolf,” he was intrigued.

He clicked on it, and started reading.

***

Rose clicked ignore on the message from the usernamed profile “slithen” deciding that one more bad play on words bloke who only wanted to talk politics would get a severe piece of her mind. Even when she’d clicked out of her messages, she saw it was still lit up, like she had a new one.

“But I’ve only just fixed that.” She muttered to herself, but found she was in error. She _did_ have a new message, from a “Doctor9.” She was skeptical that a real doctor would stoop to meeting women in such a way, but then she clicked his profile, and read his ad.

Finally someone who wasn’t revolting. Or at least, kept a few things to himself. He mentioned the simple things, and a few interesting questions to be answered if one chose to contact him.

Rose smiled and looked over at Jack,

“What do you think?”

A quiet purr was his equivalent of yes.

Before she could begin typing, she realized she ought to reply to his message to her first. He had beaten her to the punch.

In his message, he introduced himself, and was quick to joke he wasn’t exactly a people doctor.

Rose made a show of cracking her knuckles for Jack, and began to type.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this story just writes itself i swear..


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lots of POV switching...fair warning.

John sat on pins and needles waiting for the ‘BadWolf’ to reply. At least, he hoped she would. Something about her spoke to him. Perhaps it was how she listed wanting to travel above anything else, anything more typically sought after.

She didn’t care about cooking or who would get to clean house, she made it abundantly clear she wanted to drive, and wanted to go around the world before truly settling down.

A fellow adventurer.

His heart sped up when he refreshed the page and saw he had a new reply. It was from _her_.

She seemed to like his little joke about his job, and when he eagerly asked her what she did, along with a query about where she’d go right now, or tomorrow, if money was no object, he found himself almost giddy.

***

Rose burned most of the midnight oil talking with the mysterious ‘Doctor9,’ and was hard pressed to compare her Saturday to another. She’d been laughing and smiling the entire time, even though whoever he was, he was simply what seemed like another lost soul.

Well, maybe not lost. She studied his photo, and though she could see no sign of him actually in it, she recognized the building. It was an auto repair shop down the street from her shop. At least, she thought it was.

Even if she saw it in passing, she told herself she’d not go in. she didn’t want to spoil this, this little, whatever it was.

Simply a friendship for now.

She liked having a friend.

***

It only took an hour before John was fighting with himself not to ask her for a picture. He knew she probably had a good reason not to have one. Perhaps when she’d first signed up she did, and got one too many harassing messages about it. Perhaps she was shy. Perhaps she was deformed, alien.

Nah.

He knew he couldn’t exactly judge, he was no Adonis.

But he wanted to meet her, he knew it for certain. He’d wait til she asked about it, or until she brought it up. He could feel it in his bones. She was something special. Even if nothing came of it, he’d enjoyed every second they conversed.

***

Rose practically ran to her computer the next night she got home from work. Even after a particularly grueling day, she knew there was one bright spot. Talking with her friend ‘doctor9.’

She’d eyed the repair shop on her way to her lunch break, but had been careful not to look too long, or be obvious. She was nearly one hundred percent certain that was where he was, but it was much too soon to try and meet.

She clicked on to her messages, and nearly collapsed into her chair as she read the latest one.

_“We’ve been going back and forth for a while now. Might I ask what you look like?”_

She knew it wasn’t exactly an outrageous request, but suddenly she felt nervous. What if he didn’t like her?

She chewed her lip a bit, and then decided to live a little. With her tongue trapped between her teeth, she typed a reply, and attached one of the best images she could find.

“Here’s my picture. Hope you like what you see.”

She’d clicked send an instant before she realized how that had sounded. Extremely conceited, and just a shade flirtier than she’d meant.

“Oh boy.”

She put her hand over her mouth and tried not to hold her breath.

***

John didn’t know what had possessed him to send that. He’d understood her caution, and what had he done? What every other git had. Asked for a picture.

He didn’t know why he was feeling so antsy. Maybe the fact he could have sworn he caught sight of someone walking past his shop, but when he’d turned around, they’d vanished.

Maybe he was just a bit too on edge. He needed some tea. He was about to stand up and leave for the kitchen, when he saw he had a reply, already!

He hoped she wasn’t about to yell at him, albeit virtually, and declare she’d never speak to him again.

His hand moved the mouse, hovering over the attached image, before he withdrew. He definitely needed tea first.

***

Rose sat back in her chair, trying to calm the maelstrom of butterflies in her stomach. She leaned back and closed her eyes, trying to imagine what he could look like. From what he’d said, he was tall, not exactly an athletic sort, but loved running. He worked with cars so, probably always had a bit of grease on his shirt, face, or under his fingernails. Not that she really minded. So long as he washed his hands before petting Jack, she didn’t care.

Wow.

She didn’t mind thinking about him meeting Jack? She never let anyone touch Jack! Not even Mickey. Then again, Mickey hated cats.

Or did he just hate Jack?

She scolded herself for getting off topic.

So he was tall, probably built like a soccer player. But how did they look?

Her head fell forward into her hands. She was thinking too hard. He was probably just an average bloke, like she was an average girl.

Nothing special, nothing out of this world.

***

John was glad that he’d set his mug down before clicking.

He’d nearly had a heart attack. The window had opened, loaded much faster than he’d been prepared for, and revealed a blond haired, brown eyed goddess.

“Oh my god.” He whispered, and he tried to muster the strength to close the window, but failed. As if her stare was just too magnetic, he couldn’t look away.

How much more potent would she be in person?

“It’s official. I’m out of my league. You are gorgeous. You sure you still want to talk to me?”

He clicked send, and waited with bated breath.

***

Rose didn’t blush often. She didn’t have much occasion for it.

But the message from ‘doctor9’ was one such worthy moment.

She’d never expected such kind words. She’d been too worried he’d hate it. Now it was his turn.

“Pretty sure I still do. Can I see a picture of you too, so I can see if you’re how I pictured you in my head? Not that your work place isn’t lovely.”

She realized that picturing how he looked wasn’t actually the only thing she’d been tossing around inside her mind. She wondered how her mother would react to him, and how they’d get along.

Heavy stuff for just a friend.

***

John ducked his head, and smiled wide at the screen. His big ‘BadWolf’ had been trying to picture how he looked? He knew she was probably granting him too much of a beautiful face.

He sent her a reasonably good photo, which was from a few years back, when he’d shaved his head for fun. If she liked that one, then she couldn’t mind him now, dark graying hair and the same big ears.

Her reply was almost immediate, and he found himself unable to stop smiling. She was an odd one, his gorgeous blond friend.

“ _You’re so fit! We have to meet for chips.”_

He chuckled a little, and shook his head, before replying,

“You name the time and date, and I’ll be there. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Almost time for the meeting!

The blue eyes had captured her. That calm gentle stare had been her undoing. She loved the ears, and even though they made her giggle for a minute, it had only been until she’d taken a second look.

He was more than just fit. He was handsome. Not the average view of handsome. He did look a bit older than she’d been expecting, but that didn’t bother her. As long as he didn’t have skeletons from his ex-wives in his closet, she didn’t care a whit.

But she still had those butterflies, and this time, they weren’t from nerves. Or perhaps they were. A different sort.

Rose sent him a reply with the date of next Saturday, and a time of noon on the dot, and grinned like an idiot at his confirmation.

He suggested a café, and she realized it was one by both their workplaces.

Now her only problem was finding something fantastic to wear.

How was she going to live up to that photo? She was now kicking herself for sending that particular one.

***

John fussed and fumbled with his comb as he stood in front of his small mirror, in his cramped bathroom. It was a small flat, and barely had a kitchen worth doing any cooking in, but it was his. He knew living above his work was rather cliché, but hey, it was cheaper that way.

At least he rarely had to worry about the security of his business.

His hair was refusing to lay straight, much less look neat. Perhaps that simple fact had been his original reason for shaving it off. No matter. It was too late to do anything major about it now. He had about five minutes before he needed to head out the door, lest he risk becoming exceedingly late for his date with the ‘BadWolf.’ It might have seemed odd that neither of them knew each other’s names, but he knew he’d never mistake her face for another woman. She was so beautiful. She also looked quite young, but she’d not even mentioned ages, much less asked him his.

John would have bet he could have picked her out of a crowd if necessary.

He prayed Gallifrey’s would not be _quite_ that busy.

After spending a few more fruitless minutes in his bathroom, he straightened up and headed out into the main room of his flat.

He grabbed his worn black leather jacket, and went out the door. No use fretting over his appearance any longer.

***

Rose had begun to regret setting such a definite and early (for her) time to meet her ‘Doctor9’ as she heard her alarm buzz.

It was half past nine, which might have been enough time on any other day, but for her, on this day, no amount of time could have been satisfactory.

Jack’s furry paws slipped in and around her legs as he slinked his way up for his usual morning cuddle. Rose tried not to rush it, as she knew he’d only be grouchy later if he was neglected. When he began to purr so loudly he had practically woke her up all over again, she knew it was time to brew some strong tea and get into the shower.

The night before she’d debated showering then, and setting her hair in soft curlers, but then she heard the voice of reason, or rather what her mother would have said if she’d been present.

“Don’t waste time on a perfect stranger who you don’t even know what he likes.”

Rose almost did it anyway for spite, when she remembered how much sorer her head would have been from the ‘soft’ rollers. Not worth it.

She already had a headache from all the staring at fine print receipts and paperwork she’d done the day before.

“Is it too much to ask to have a quiet day in?” she mumbled to Jack, who merely ignored her, in favor of devouring his crunchy breakfast.

The only good thing about her sleeping in was she could easily skip her own first meal. She sipped her tea slowly, savoring the warmth and slight sweetness. Though she wouldn’t be having a quiet day in, she hoped her adventure would be just as relaxing.

Eventually she finished her tea, glanced at the clock and had a small heart attack.

She shrieked, and ran to jump in the shower, not noticing how Jack had settled down for a mini-nap with his face in his empty food dish.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lunch date!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BBC show references in general everywhere...

John stood outside the café, pacing back and forth. He was glad for one thing, he hadn’t been as late as he’d feared, and his date wasn’t anywhere in sight.

Or perhaps she’d seen him in person and already left. He was a daft looking old fool. She was a young free spirited girl barely a woman. He wouldn’t have blamed her.

A few minutes of pacing and he shook his head, trying to remove all negative thoughts and perceptions.

She wouldn’t do that.                                                           

The sound of approaching footsteps drew him out his of internal battle, and he looked over to see a pink and yellow blob headed his way.

If that was her, he wondered just how far away she’d parked.

Or perhaps she’d walked the whole way?

His vision sharpened the closer she got. He could see now the pink was from her jacket and matching sneakers, and the yellow softened into a blond hue, she’d left her hair down, long and wavy.

She was beaming at him, and he couldn’t resist the urge to return her expression.

“Hello there.”

She stopped short, almost as if she’d switched on internal brakes.

“Hi.”

“Bad Wolf?”

She nodded.

“And you’re the doctor nine?” she looked as if she was on the verge of laughing, and he shrugged,

“Sort of yeah.”

She seemed to think a moment, before sticking out her hand, which he only stared at for a moment before taking. It felt warm against his skin.

“I’m Rose.”

He shook her hand twice, and reluctantly let go, before giving a mock bow,

“Nice to meet you Rose. My name is John. But if you wanted to keep calling me the Doctor, that’s okay with me.”

Rose gazed at him with an odd expression, which he realized was curiosity.

“What sort of doctor were you, before you became a mechanic?”

John winced,

“Ah, I wasn’t anything really. I just thought it sounded good. Clever.”

Rose shrugged,

“Can’t argue with that.”

“How about Bad wolf? You don’t look like the fairy tale villain at all. You look more like the princess.”

He could have bit his tongue for that, but she only giggled,

“Thanks. Yeah I just thought of it. I didn’t want anything too silly. There was some bloke on there who was called ‘UtahDalek’ or something. What a nutter.”

John had barely heard any of what she’d said, but he grinned at her cheerfully. He enjoyed being around her. She seemed to have a strange way of making him feel at ease, and they hadn’t even gone inside the café yet.

“You hungry Rose?”

She seemed to recall where they were, and she collapsed into a fit of giggles,

“Yes, oh god yes. I missed breakfast, so I’m starving.”

Rose hadn’t wanted to admit that, but it didn’t seem to bother him. She’d been having a challenge of a time keeping from staring into his eyes. They were so captivating in person, it was like gazing into the night sky, and finding that one bright star you couldn’t look away from.

They settled down at a booth, after Rose ordered chips for them both, she sat back against her seat, and simply stared at him. She’d decided it was pointless not to. She might never see him again. If he didn’t like her enough for another date, she wanted to get her fill.

“Are you alright Rose?”

She hummed, before realizing he was speaking to her.

“Yes what?”

“You seem to be awfully quiet. Is that how hunger manifests for you? Silence?”

He was smiling, so she knew he was only kidding her.

She shrugged, and tilted her head, still watching him, formulating an excuse for her mindless ogling,

“Nah. I just got lost in thought. Your, ah, hair looks different.”

She frowned slightly, she’d only just noticed. She hadn’t raised her eyes above his for nearly the entire time she’d been sitting. She had realized the longer hair actually made him look distinguished, and less like a troubled youth. Not that he seemed troubled in any way; in fact, his hair was a dark grey. But she decided she rather liked it. It was no helpful indication of his age; men could go grey at any age, for any reason.

John ran a hand through his hair, fluffing it up slightly and gave a nervous laugh,

“Well yes. That was kind of an old picture I sent you. Sorry about that.”

Rose flicked a hand,

“It’s no trouble. In case you didn’t notice, I’m not exactly a cover girl.”

She grimaced, even though she had been supremely confident in her outfit before leaving home, suddenly she felt her stomach drop as he focused on her face.

John, for his part, was still quite concerned she’d be gone as soon as they’d paid the bill. He looked at her, his eyes wide and his face relaxed. He was panicking inside, but she didn’t need to know that.

“I think you could be. You’re even more beautiful in person.”

Rose swallowed, and blinked a couple times before she could form a reply.

“Are you serious? Are you feeling okay?”

Rose reached across the table to brush her fingers over his forehead, and felt him freeze beneath her touch.

“Do you need a doctor?”

John would have smiled at her little joke, if he could have been able to move.

She was touching him! She was feeling his forehead, and now her hand had moved down to caress his cheek. Without thinking he lifted his hand up and trapped hers beneath it.

“No. I think I’m fine. But I do mean it. You look beautiful. You _are_ beautiful.”

Rose could feel the heat in her cheeks a few seconds before she knew he saw it. His hand on hers was making her blush even more, and she carefully withdrew it.

“Thanks then.”

The chips arrived then, and momentarily distracted the pair from each other. Though they’d barely spoken about anything of consequence, the air between them was thick with tension.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So originally this was to be the last chapter, but then, about a few days after, i woke up at about 3 am and had to get up and write one more chapter, so consider this the next to the last!

Rose was debating about taking the last chip, when John reached out and took it from the basket, broke it in half, and handed her the bigger looking half.

She fought back the urge to scold him for being such a gentleman, and instead smiled.

“So what’s next Doctor?”

John grinned at her, finding he rather liked her using his preferred nickname.

“Well, if you’ve got a bit of time, I’d love to show you my shop. I’ve not got a car I’m working on at the moment, but I do have a lot of designs, like I mentioned a couple days ago.”

Rose nodded eagerly,

“Definitely. Here, let me get this.”

She scooped up the tab before he could even blink, and slapped down a note that more than covered it.

John wasn’t sure if he could let her do that again.

“Okay.”

She led him out of the café by grabbing his hand, and suddenly all thoughts of arguing over who should have paid the bill flew out of his head.

Unconsciously he shifted their grip so their fingers linked. Rose could feel her heart speeding up as she noticed what he did.

It felt good, so comfortable to be holding his hand.

They only walked a block and half before stopping in front of a tall and narrow building. The main front for the auto repair shop was dark blue stained wood.

Rose knew this place. She had passed it a couple times, trying for stealth.

She grinned to herself as he let them inside.

It was much different than she had been imagining. The building went back farther than one would expect, making it almost bigger on the inside.

She took note of the car winches, and the overflowing tool boxes all around. But what captured her attention most was John’s messy front desk. It was covered in blue paper, with scribbled white silver sketches all over the place.

“Here’s my latest thing that’s been kicking around the old noggin. I had to sketch it down, it just kept coming to me in my dreams.”

John held out a small sheet, and she could almost make out a square shaped thing, full of complicated parts and pieces.

“What is it?”

“An engine that would run on electricity, but only need to be charged once a year! Can you imagine that Rose? So much time and money could be saved. Of course, it’s simply an idea, and just a little bit of a dream, but I think someday, could be made real.”

Rose beamed,

“You know, most great ideas came from crazy dreams. Ask anyone from a hundred years ago if they ever thought they could fly, and I’d bet they’d say never.”

John nodded, and had the sudden urge to hug her, but he held back. He flipped through the various blueprints on his desk, and let her look at them as much as she wanted to.

He was delighted that she was taking any interest, big or small. He knew to most his work wasn’t exactly the most exciting, but he had hope that it could be.

“So tell me Rose, you mention travel a lot. Have you ever been somewhere memorable?”

She frowned slightly, and then looked back up at him, away from his drawings,

“Gallifrey’s café.”

The way her eyes looked at him told the whole story. He went red, and the blush even spread to his ears. Rose didn’t say a thing, but she thought it was completely adorable.

“Can’t say I disagree with you on that.”

She smiled triumphantly, and set the papers down, before facing him,

“Good. Then you won’t mind if I ask you ‘round for tea sometime would you?”

“Not at all.”

“Good.”

Rose looked at him with those big brown eyes, and John couldn’t resist any longer, he opened his arms and without a word, she leapt into his embrace.

They only stayed still a moment, before moving apart.

“Well, I’d better be off; got to make sure my cat gets dinner, lest I suffer the consequences.”

John raised an eyebrow; he didn’t recall her mentioning a pet.

Rose giggled,

“I’m sorry I forgot to tell you about Jack. Do you have any pets?”

“Nah. I was always afraid I’d scare anything off with this daft old face.”

John hesitatingly opened the door for her, and Rose paused, with one foot in and the other on the sidewalk,

“Don’t be so sure about that. I rather like it.”

“Good day Rose.”

“’Bye John, er, Doctor. Promise you won’t go on an exciting adventure without warning me first yeah?”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> last chapter until the special valentine's day drabble/sequel!

_A week later…_

Convincing John to attend a Sunday dinner with the prospect of meeting Jackie hadn’t been the hardest thing to do.

Rose almost felt sorry for him, here he thought he’d be spending a nice meal with her family and friends, when the truth was, he’d likely be given the third degree.

“So what’s your mum like?” He’d asked her with curious wide eyes, while she’d been watching him tinker in his shop.

She twirled a foot in the air as it dangled from where she was perched on his desk,

“Oh you know. The usual type of mum. She likes to cook, but hates to shop. Loves reading books, but always insists she’s too busy. Never too busy to bother me every day with a phone call though.”

Rose mumbled the last bit, and John would have asked her to repeat it, but he looked a bit lost in thought.

“Who else is going to be there?”

Rose chewed her bottom lip before answering,

“Well, I bet Mickey, and Martha for sure. Not sure who else. Unless mum’s made any new friends.”

John disliked the way Rose’s voice instinctively softened when she said Mickey.

“Who’re they?”

“Mickey’s my best friend, practically since we were babies. And Martha’s his girlfriend, practically fiancée. One of these days he’ll find a pair and ask her.”

John relaxed slightly at this bit of information, but still felt a slight flare of jealously. An unlucky childhood friend was always something to be cautious of.

“You’re still good friends?”

Rose grinned,

“Yep. If I didn’t know better I’d say you were envious of Mickey. You shouldn’t be. If it weren’t for his annoying personality we’d probably have never met. Or at least not this quickly.”

John’s head shot up so fast he banged his forehead on the underside of the car he had been tinkering with.

“What do you mean by that?”

Rose had sprung to his aid, and was trying to sooth the accidental bump with her hands, which he wasn’t about to complain about.

“He was the one who told me about the dating sight. If it weren’t for Martha being so normal and all, I might have been a little too creeped out to join.”

John nodded, and Rose finally let go of him, relieved he wasn’t in any serious pain or injury. Just his own cleverness getting the best of him.

“But wait. You said not this quickly. Why?”

Rose ducked her head and blushed,

“I’d seen you before in here. I just work across the street. It’s possible we’d have bumped into each other at Gallifrey’s eventually.”

John smiled at her, and raised a hand to cup her cheek, turning her to face him properly,

“Rose Tyler, I don’t think I could have waited an instant longer to have met you.”

She let him pull her close, and melted into the kiss that enveloped her lips.

Doctor or not, he always made her feel better.

She only succeeded in feeling slightly less guilty about Sunday.

***

They’d both survived relatively unscathed, and her Doctor had managed to avoid a slap from Jackie, a near miracle in and of itself.

Jackie had taken one look at him and asked if her boyfriend was coming in a separate car! None too subtly digging at his age, John had been extremely graceful in acknowledging that no, he was not a close relative of Rose’s paramour, he was _it_.

Rose didn’t bother arguing with her about the age gap, sure, it was a bit larger than she’d pictured herself with, but she was beyond caring now.

She and John had bonded on more levels in their first few weeks of simply walking and talking than any other relationship she’d had.

When John was still acting the perfect gentlemen throughout the whole meal, Jackie eventually admitted defeat.

Mickey had been quite eager to have a bloke to chat with sports about, but instead had been fascinated with John’s talk of automobiles.

Meanwhile, Rose and Martha had discussed wedding dress designs and talked flowers, in a rather hushed tone so neither of their respective partners would hear.

Martha was slightly hoping that Mickey was putting off their engagement to propose on Valentine’s Day, now only a month away, and though Rose thought that a bit cliché, and even too cheesy, it was 100 percent something Mickey _would_ do.

They’d all been sent home with armfuls of leftovers, and a happy wish for a good weekend.

Rose counted that as a victory, and she’d quite firmly told her mum that she and John wouldn’t be around every week until they became something more serious.

It was a nice excuse, and John didn’t protest a bit. In fact, he’d squeezed her hand tightly and given her a cheeky grin when she’d revealed her plan to him.

The only thing she worried about now was introducing him to Jack, and what sort of Valentine’s day plans she would have to watch out for.

John wasn’t the cheesy sort, and he wasn’t overly sappy, unless unofficial staring contests over meals counted. Then again, Rose usually initiated those half the time.

As she watched him tinkering away again, with a successful Sunday dinner notched into his belt, she smiled. John, her Doctor was definitely a rare sort of man.

She might have been the big Bad Wolf, but he’d been the one to blow her ideas and expectations of love away.

***

**END**


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